Wire tying machine



April 23, 1935. H, SPQOR 1,999,144

WIRE TYING MACHINE Filed June 2, 19:52 4 Shets-Sheet 1 12 4E5: I I I I Ihz/arzzor- [van/175 00077 A ril 23, 1935. 1. H. SPOOR WIRE' TYINGMACHINE Filed June 2, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m @lw ./.4 l w ,QNI NM r HSm QW kw j m mm- 2 0. QIQI MN Q Bw R. Y Ila. a mm NW $5M Q 8 MN Q7 @N @EH .H MM 8 NW mm L [1 I b mm? I Q. .r mmx 9 mm kwm M fig MN m.. NW 9 @39Mm nw Q @mw Q. 2 mm lg, kw G omw (.XQ o N. 0 MN O 0 9 0 0 [Q April 23,1935. I. H. sPooR WIRE TYING MACHINE Filed June 2, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3[we/W: 121L212 35,0001;

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A ril 23, 1935. I. HJSPOOR 1,999,144

WIRE TYING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 2, 1932 jizuerzzor- 121cmjifipaor,

Patented Apr. 23, 1935 UNITED STATES WIRE TYING MACHINE Ivan H. Spoor,La Grange, Ill., assignor to The Gerrard Company, Inc., Chicago, 111., acorporation of Delaware Application June 2, 1932, Serial No. 614,971

17 Claims.

.The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved wiretying machine which is small, light, compact and inexpensive, yetperforms the tying operation efiiciently at a high 5 rate of speed, isthoroughly dependable, is automatic in all of the more importantrespects and may be used quite advantageously for those classes of tyingwork which heretofore only the big, costly and cumbersome machines knownas 1" automatics have been considered suitable for.

While the foregoing statement is indicative in a general way of thenature of the invention, other more specific objects and advantages Willbe apparent to those skilled in the art upon a 15 full understanding ofthe construction, arrangement and operation of the improved machine. I

One form of the invention is presented herein by way of exemplification,but it will of coursebe appreciated that the invention is susceptible ofembodiment in other structurally modified forms coming equally withinthe scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the machine, showing the same attached to thefront edge of a bundling table with the upper surface of the machineflush with the top of the table;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the machine, taken onapproximately the line 3-3 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 4 is another vertical longitudinal section through the machinetaken in the oposite direction on approximately the line 44 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal longitudinal section, taken on approximately theline 55' of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3or the line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line 'l l of Fig.4;

Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the irregular line 88of Fig. 3 or the line 8-8 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section, taken on the line99 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line |-I0 of Fig.4;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical section, taken on the line ll-ll ofFig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary vertical section, taken on the line l2-l2 ofFig.

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the left-hand end of the machine with the topplate removed; and

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary vertical section, taken 55 on the line |4 |4 ofFig. 13.

The particular machine which is shown in the drawings is adapted to beattached to the front edge of a wrapping, packing or bundling table Ill,with the fiat upper surface I I of the machine substantially flush withthe top of the table. The machine can be conveniently used in thisposition to tie up practically anything that can be handled on a tableor conveyor--one typical and highly advantageous use of the machinebeing the bundling of newspapers in the delivery room of anewspaper'plant.

The machine is automatic in some respectsbut not in others. Forinstance, the tensioning of the wire about the object, the twistingtogether of the overlapped ends, the cutting of the held wire portionsat the extremities of the tie formation and the re-threading of the cutend of the wire from the coil back into the stationary gripper, are alloperations which take place automatically in proper sequence once themachine has been set in motion. But before these operations start, thewire leading from the machine to the coil must first have been looped byhand around the object or group of objects resting on the table inoverlapping relation to the machine. As soon as the wire has been loopedabout the object, the

machine is ready to perform the several above mentioned tie-formingoperations, which it will do with great rapidity.

After each tying operation, the machine will come to rest with one endof the wire from the supply coil in operative position in a gripper l2at the left-hand side of the machine and with the wire portion whichextends from such end toward the' coil lying loosely in an upwardlyopening groove l3 near the right-hand side of the machine, from whichgroove it can be easily lifted and looped about the next object to betied.

In proceeding to tie an object which is resting on the table, the objectis first pulled toward the operator into a position overlying the uppersurface ll of the machine, with the particular portion of the objectwhich is to receive the wire loop projecting toward the operator above asmall supporting lip I 4 on the machine. The wire which is lying in theopen groove I3 is then picked up and looped about the object in acounterclockwise direction. As the wire approaches the bottom of theobject after having been trained about the other three sides'of thesame, it is passed beneath the lip l4, pulled out horizontally towardthe right-hand end of the machine above the groove l3 and moveddownwardly. a little into an open gripper l5, which gripper will thenautomatically snap shut on the wire. All that remains for the operatorto do is to press down on a horizontally extending control bar I 6,where upon the machine will start and the tie will be almostinstantaneously produced.

As will be observed in the drawings, the machine is driven by anelectric motor l1 (see Fig. 1) which is located beneath the table towhich the machine is attached. The motor I1 is connected to a shaft ISin the machine by a belt 19 which is trained over pulleys 20 and 2i. Theshaft I8 is intended to run continuously and is preferably provided atone end with a fly wheel 22. The other end of the shaft l8 extends intothe casing 23 of the machine and terminates in a pinion 24 (see Fig. 3)which meshes upwardly and rearwardly with a gear 25. The gear 25 isjournaled on a shaft 26 in the rear part of the casing. The gear 25,which is free to rotate on the shaft 26 when the machine is at rest, is

adapted to be connected to such shaft to place the machine in operationby means of a jaw clutch 21 which is splined to the shaft and is adaptedto be moved axially thereof by means of a forked lever 28 intocircumferentially interlocked engagement with a similarly shaped clutchformation 21 on the adjacent end of the gear 25.

The fork 28 is secured to a rock shaft 29, which shaft projects outthrough the front of the casing 23 and is provided on its front end witha head 36. The clutch 21 is urged at all times to engage with theopposed clutch formation 21' by the action of a spring 3|, but is heldout of engagement when the machine is notin operation by a downwardlyspring-pressed bolt 32 (see Fig. 1) which is normally positioned withthe nose thereof in interlocked engagement with a notch 33 in theperiphery of the head 39. The bolt 32 is slidably mounted in a block 34which is in turn pivotally mounted on the front end of the shaft 29behind the head 30. The block 34 is normally prevented from turning in aclockwise direction by the resistance of a spring 35, which spring issufficiently strong to overcome the tendency of the spring 3| tooscillate the shaft 29 in a clockwise direction.

In order to throw the clutch 21 in to start the machine, it is merelynecessary to depress the previously mentioned control bar I6 which barextends horizontally along the upper front portion of the machine and isprovided at its ends with a pair of small supporting arms 36 (see Fig.5) which are pivotally mounted on a rod 31. Downward movement of the barl6 causes a lever 38 therebeneath to oscillate downwardly. The lever 38is pivoted to the casing on a stud 39 (see Fig. 1) and is provided witha small fork 40 which engages under the head of the bolt 32. The abovedescribed movement of the lever 38 serves to withdraw the nose of thebolt 32 from the notch in the head 30, which releases the shaft 29 andpermits the spring 31 to rock the assembly and throw in the clutch 21,thereby causing the shaft 26 to start rotating.'

The shaft 26 carries a worm 4| which meshes upwardly with a worm wheel42 on the rear end of a forwardly extending shaft 43. The driving ratiobetween the shaft 26 and the shaft 43 is such as to cause the latter tomake one complete revolution during each operating cycle of the machine.The shaft 43 is provided, near the front of the casing, with a spiralgear 44 which meshes downwardly with a spiral gear 45 on a shaft 46. Theshaft 46, like the shaft 43, makes one revolution during each operatingcycle of the machine. The shaft 43 is provided on its front end with ahead 41 which is provided at one point in its periphery with a recess 48for coaction with the upwardly projecting end of a rod 49. The rod 49 ismounted in the previously described block 34 and may be projected orretracted with respect to the block by an adjusting screw 59 which maybe turned by means of a knurled wheel 5|.

When the machine starts to operate as a resu of the control bar l6 beingdepressed, the head 41 on the front end of the shaft 43 will commence torotate in a counterclockwise direction, thereby camming the rod 49 andthe block 34 in which it is mounted toward the right against theyielding resistance of the spring 35, after which the upper end of therod 49 will ride against the cylindrical periphery of the head 41 untilthe recess 48 in the head has returned to a position wherein the upperend of the rod 49 can spring back into it. As soon as this occurs, themovement of the block 34 in returning will rock the shaft 29 backthrough the coupling provided by the nose of the bolt 32, and the clutch21 will be thrown out. bringing the machine to a quick stop.

The gripper I2 at the left end of the machine consists of a small head52 (see Figs. l0, l1, l3 and 14) which is provided with a horizontallyextending wire opening 53 and is mounted on the upper end of an uprightstem 54. The stem 54 is journaled in the casing of the machine andisprovided at its lower end with a cam follower 55 which is adapted to bemoved by a cam 56 on the adjacent end of the shaft 46. During most ofthe operating period of the machine, and also when the machine is atrest, the follower 55 is positively held by the cam 56in a positionwherein the wire opening 53 is at right angles to the longitudinal axisof the hereinafter described twisting mechanism through which the wirefrom the gripper !2 passes, but after the tie has been completed andbefore the machine has come to rest, the cam 56 will pass through an arewherein the follower 55 is opposite a recess in the cam, therebyallowing the follower to turn into such recess under the action of atorsion spring 51 on the stem, which turning movement will cause theopening 53 in the head of the gripper to move into alignment with thethen cut end of the wire leading back to the coil, in readiness toreceive such end. As soon as the opening 53 in the gripper l2 arrives inthis aligned position, the other gripper 15 will move the cut end of thewire remaining in the machine toward the left into the opening 53, afterwhich the gripper l2 will be turned back again into its holding position(see Fig. 13), making a right-angled bend in the end of the wire whichwill prevent the same from pulling out of the gripper 12 when the wireis subsequently looped and pulled taut about the next object to be tied.

The end of the wire which is held in the gripper l2 when the machine isat rest, extends back to the supply coil (not shown) through twoforwardly opening slots 59 in two spaced side plates 59 (see Figs. 3, 8and 9) and through a radial slot 69 in a centrally arranged twistingpinion 6|. In looping the wire by hand about an object in acounterclockwise direction preparatory to tying the same, the wireportion which is brought down again beneath the object is adapted to bemoved back under the lip 14 into the slots 58 and 60 alongside the firstwire portion and then pulled out horizontally to the right and placed inthe open gripper l5.

The twisting pinion 6| is rotated by a gear 62 which is journaled on astub shaft 63. The gear 62 is driven by a gear 64 which is non-rotatablyassociated with a gear 65 on a stub shaft 66. The gear 65 is in turndriven by a pinion 61 which is secured on a short extension shaft 26' atone end of the previously described shaft 28. The shaft 26 is adapted tobe coupled at certain times with the shaft 26 by means of a jaw clutch68. When the clutch 68 is thrown in, the pinion M will be rotated,causing the overlapped wire portions in the slot in the pinion to betwisted together between the side plates 59, which is the usual methodof forming a twisted wire tie.

The gripper I5, which is located near the right end of the machine,consists of an upwardly projecting and rearwardly beveled flange 69 anda wedge-shaped block I9 which is shiftably mounted in a wedge-shapedrecess II beneath a cover plate I2 behind the flange. The front edge ofthe block I9 is serrated and, is disposed in spaced parallel relation tothe flange 69, for the reception therebetween of the portion of the wirewhich leads back-to the supply coil. The block 19 is normally urged tomove toward the left and in consequence forwardly toward the flange 69by means of a compressed spring 13 which is seated in a recess in across head Lt-on which the gripper mechanism is mounted. Until the wirehas been placed in the gripper I5, however, the wedge block I9 wi l beheld in its open position by the nose I5 of an upwardly spring-pressedlatch I6, which nose is adapted to engage withi'n a notch TI in thefront edge of the block. When' the wire, in being placed in the gripper,is moved downwardly into the open groove therein, it will engage withthe nose I5 of the latch and will force, the latter out of engagementwith the block I9, allowing the latter to close up on the wire intightly clamped engagement with the same. After the tying operation has.been completed, and just before the machine comes to rest, the gripperI5 will move a-substantial distance toward the left to bring the smallend of the block I9 into engagement with a projection I8 (see Fig. 13)on the casing of the machine, which projection will shift the block I9toward the right in the cross head and allow the latch it to springupwardly and lock the block in its open position.

The cross head I9 is slidably supported on the previously mentioned rod31 and also on another rearwardly disposed parallel rod 37 (see Fig. 5).The cross head is pivotally connected to the ends of a U-shaped strapI9, and the strap is in turn connected with a rod 89 which extendsloosely through an aperture in the center of the same. A compressionspring BI is positioned on the rod 89 between a shoulder .on the latterand the center portion of the strap 79 for yieldingly forcing the latterto the right when the rod 89 is moved toward the right. A nut 82 isthreaded on the outer end of the rod 89 at the far side of the strap I9for pulling thestrap toward the left when the rod is moved inthatdirection. The rod 89 is pivotally connected at 99 to the upper end of acurved lever 84. The lever 89 is pivoted to the casing at 85 and isprovided intermediate its end with a cam follower 86 in the form of aroller for coaction with a large cam 8'! which is secured to thepreviously described cross shaft 43. As the shaft 43 turns, the crossarm 14 which carries the gripper l5 will be forced to move toward theright end of the machine, thereby tensioning the wire. The roller 86 iscaused to follow the periphery of the cam 81 by the action of a. spring88 (see Fig. The spring 88 is mounted on a rod 89 which is pivotallyattached at 99 to the lever 84. The spring is compressed between thepivoted end of the rod 89 and a cross plate 9| through which the rodextends. The plate 9! is mounted on two supporting rods 92. When thehigh portion of the cam 81 moves out from under the roller 86, thespring 88 will move the lever 84, rod 89 and cross head 14 back towardthe twisting mechanism of the machine.

The gripper I5, in moving toward the right end of the machine in pullingthe wire tight about the object, will draw the wire down into thepreviously mentioned upwardly opening groove I3, which is formed in ashiftably mounted plate 93. The plate 93 is located between the gripperI5 and the twisting mechanism. After the wire has been drawn down intothe groove I3, the plate 93 will be shifted rearwardly beneath astationary plate 94 into a position wherein the groove I3 is entirelycovered by the plate 94, thereby confining the wire loosely within astraight tube-like guideway. The plate 93 is shifted by means of a lever95 which is pivotally mounted on a shaft 96 and is coupled to the plateby a loose rocking connection 9?. The lower end of the lever 95 bearsagainst a cam 98 which is secured to the shaft 46. When the low part ofthe cam moves into a position opposite the lower end of the lever 95, itpermits a compressed spring 99 to oscillate the lever in one directionto shift the plate 99 rearwardly, and when the high part of the camengages with the lever, it oscillates the latter in the oppositedirection and shifts the plate 93 forwardly, thereby opening up the wireguiding groove I3.

As soon as the machine is started, the front wireportion in the twistingmechanism, which may or may not have been pushed back by hand as far asit will go into the slots 58 and 69, is engaged by a pair of fingers l08 gsee Fig. 8) which move rearwardly and force both of the overlappedwire portions into their proper positions in the slots. The fingers I99are secured to the shaft 99, at opposite sides of the twistingmechanism, and the shaft 96 is oscillated in the direction necessary tomove the fingers I99 rearwardly by a torsion spring I9I (see Fig. 4)which is attached to a projecting portion I92 of the shaft. The shaft 96is oscillated in the other direction by means of a cam I93 (see Fig. 7)which is secured to the shaft 46 and operates against a lever I94 whichis pivoted at its lower end to the casing. The lever I94 is pivoted atits upper end to a link I95 which is in turn pivoted to a small arm I96on the shaft 96. The link I95 is provided with a shoulder portion I91which abuts with one end of an axially shiftable pin I98 when themachine is at rest. The

pin. I98, which serves to hold the shaft 96 in the position shown inFig. 7 against the action of the spring I9I, extends out through one endof the casing 23 and is connected by a link I99 (see Fig. 1) to thelever 38 of the starting device.

When the machine is started, the downward movement of the lever 38 willwithdraw the end pin I08 will move resiliently back into a position inlatched association with the link I05 under the action of a spring Hwhich bears against the lever 38.

After the overlapped wire portions have been pushed back into place bythe fingers I00 and have been twisted by the pinion 6I, the wireportions at the ends of the tie leading off to the grippers I2 and I aresevered by a pair of knives II I and I I2 (see Figs. 8 and 9), whichknives are attached respectively to the front edges of a pair of leversH3 and H4. The levers H3 and H4 are pivoted at their upper ends to theframe of the machine and are adapted to be engaged at their lower endsby cams H5 and H6 on the shaft 46. The knives III and I I2 are mountedon the levers H3 and I I4 in such relation to the slots in the coactingside plates 59 that the knife I II will out only the wire portionleading off to the gripper I2 while the knife I I2 will out only thewire portion leading off through the then closed groove I3 to thegripper I5.

After the excess wire portions have been cut away from the tie at theends of the latter. the tie is ejected from the slots 58 and 60 of thetwisting mechanism by means of another pair of fingers III (see Figs. 4and 8) The fingers III are pivotally mounted on the shaft 98 and areprovided with downwardly and rearwardly'extending portions I I 8 whichare adapted to be engaged by a pair of cams H8 on the shaft 46. When thehigh parts of the cams I I8 ride up under the portions H8 of the fingersthey cause such fingers to force the completed tie forwardly out of theslots 58 and 60.

The twisting mechanism is set in operation at the proper time followingthe tensioning operation by means of a cam I on the shaft 43. When alever I2 I, which is pressed against the periphery of the cam I20 by aspring I22, reaches the relieved portion of the cam, it pivots about acenter I23 under the action of the spring I22. The lever I2I is providedbelow its pivotal axis with a forked portion I24 which embraces theshiftable portion of the previously mentioned clutch 68. The movement ofthe lever I2! in entering the recessed portion of the cam I20, throws inthe clutch 68 and starts the twisting pinion BI turning. At the sameinstant that this occurs, a stud I25 on one side of the cam I20 engageswith and depresses the free end of a lever I28, which lever has anupwardly extending portion I21 which serves to withdraw a locking pinI28 from a recess I29 in the gear 65 of the twisting mechanism. The pinI28 is normally pressed into such recess by a spring I30 and is slidablymounted in an aperture in a block I3I, which block is pivotally mountedon the same center as the gear 65. The block I3I is capable of movingonly through a small angle against the increasing resistance of a springI32, which spring, together with the pin I28, serves to return the gearsof the twisting mechanism into a position wherein the slot 60 in thepinion M is facing toward the front of the machine at the completion ofthe twisting operation, after having first permitted the slot 60 to turnpast such position in order to impart a slight overtw st to the tie.

The nose of the pin I28 will spring back into the aperture I29 in thegear 65 as soon as the latter has made one complete revolution, and thenthe block I3I and the gear 65 will turn together as a unit through asmall arc until the end of the lever I2I has engaged the high part ofthe cam I20 and thrown out the clutch 88.

After the clutch 58 has been thrown out, the spring I32 will move thetwisting pinion 6| back again into a position wherein the slot 60 is inalignment with the slots 58. The portion I21 of the lever I26 whichengages with the head of the pin I28 is slotted on an arc to permit thepin to move sidewise with respect to the lever. The lever I26 isreturned to its normal position by a spring I33.

The operation of the machine will now be described. After the last tyingoperation, the machine will be left with vthe end of the wire from thesupply coil booked in the gripper I2 at the left side of the machine andwith the adjacent portion of the wire disposed within the aligned slotsof the twisting mechanism. The object which is to be tied next is pulledby the operator out over thesupporting lip I4 of the machine and thewire leading back to the coil is then looped by the operator in acounterclockwise direction about the object, after which it is pushedback under the lip I4 into the slots in the twisting mechanism andpressed down into the gripper I5 near the right end of the machine. The

gripper I5 thereupon automatically clamps the wire against withdrawal.

The machine is then ready to be started. To start it, the control bar I6is pressed down by the operator. This movement of the bar I8 causes thenose 33 of the bolt 32 to be withdrawn from the notch in the peripheryof the head 30, and. as soon as the head 30 is released, the spring 3ithrows in the clutch 21, starting the shafts 2G, 43 and 46 to rotating.The downward movement of the bar I6 also causes the end of the rod I00to be withdrawnfrom in front of the end of the link I 05, therebypermitting the spring IOI to rotate the shaft 96 rapidly and move theloading fingers I00 rearwardly to force the overlapped wire portionsinto their proper positions within the aligned slots of the twistingmechanism.

The rotation of the shaft 43 acts through the cam 81 and lever 84 tomove the gripper I5 toward the right end of the machine to place thelooped wire under tension. When a predetermined amount of tension hasbeen reachedwhich can be varied by adustment of the nut 82-the spring 8Iwill permit the gripper I5 to come to a stop even though the rod 80 andits associated lever 84 continue to move outwardly until the high partof the cam 81 has been reached. After the gripper I5 has moved into itstensioning position it will remain in that position throughout thegreater part of the operating cycle of the machine, due to the greatcircumferential extent of the high part of the cam 81.

As soon as the gripper I5 has pulled the wire taut, the plate 93 whichcarries the groove I3 will shift into a position wherein the groove willunderlie and be closed off by the plate 94, confining the wire in astraight tube-like guideway, where any bends or irregularities in thetightening wire will be smoothed out, thereby leaving the wire perfectlystraight.

By the time that the gripper I5 has fully tensioned the wire about theobject, the cam I20 will have turned into a position wherein it willallow the spring I22 to throw in the clutch 88 and start the twistingpinion SI to turning. After the pinion 6| has made a sufficient numberof turns to impart the desired twist to the overlapped wire portionsheld in the slots in the side plates 50, the stud I25 on the cam I20will act lead back from both ends of the tie through the lever. I26 tothrow-out the clutch 68. The timing of the release of the clutch 6B issuch, however, as to cause the slot 60 in the twisting pinion to turn alittle past its forwardly openposition against the'yieldingresistance ofthe spring I32 after the pin I28 has snapped back into the aperture I29in the gear 65, there by imparting a slight overtwist'to the tie.

At about the same time, the cutters III and H2 will be oscillated by thecams H5 and H6 on the shaft 46, causing the wire portions which to thegrippers I2 and I5 to be severed at points closely ad-v iacent the endsof the tie.

The fingers m will then be actuated by the cams II9 on the shaft 46 toeject the completed tie from the slots inthe twisting mechanism,thereby-facilitating forward removal of the tied loop and bound objectfrom the supporting lip I4.

After the tie has been completed and removed from the machine, thelatter will automatically reload itself with wire before comingto rest.Thisis accomplished by the return movement of the gripper l5 whichstill'holds fastto the wire. The gripper Iipushes the wire end which"has been severed by the cutter I I2 through the slots 58 and 60 into thethen aligned opening 53 in the gripper I2, after which the gripper I2 isturned by the cam 56 into a position at right angles to its formerposition, thereby bending the wire end and holding it securely againstwithdrawal in readiness for the next tying operation. As soon as thewire has been engaged by the gripper I2, the plate 93 which contains thegroove I3 will be shifted forwardly, whereby to expose the wire in thegroove and permit it to be lifted out and looped about the 'next,object. When the gripper I5 reaches its extreme left position, it isengaged by the projection 18 and is caused to automatically release thewire.

The machine is then in readiness for the next tying operation and willcome to a stop as soon as the nose of the rod 49 drops into the recess48. in the periphery of the head 41. The exact position of the head 41in which the machine will come to a stop may be variedby changing theextent of projection of the rod 49 by means of the knurled wheel 5|.Ordinarily, the position of the rod 49 will be so adjusted as to permitthe gripper I5 to start its movement toward the right before the machineactually stops. In this way, the effective stroke of the gripper I5toward the right in tensioning the wire can be increased or decreased asdesired, depending upon the amount of slack which is to be taken up inthe wire, the compressibility and size of the object being tied and alsothe tension to be placed on the wire. The stroke of the-gripper it willof course always be the same, but by varying the position of the rod 89,the first part of the stroke may be caused. to take place before themachine comes to a stop, with the result that the position in which thegripper l 5 is found at the start of the next tying operation may bevaried at will.

After the tie has been completed and the wire portions leading away fromthe ends of the tie have been cut off, the cut tip remaining in thegripper It will fall out of the opening 53 in the same, leaving suchopening clear in readiness to receive the other cut end of the wire. Tomake sure that the cut wire tip will always leave the gripper I2, thecam 56 which operates'such gripper may advantageously be provided with asupplemental relieved portion in its face which of 'ajo'ining' sleeve orwelding.

leaves a radially extending rib III at the end of the cam. Just beforethe gripper I2 turns into the position in which the other cut end of thewire is threaded into it, the cam will ride into the recess in front ofthe rib I24 and will be kicked back again by said rib, resulting in arapidly oscillating movement of the gripper I2 which will serve to throwout the cut wire tip..

The word wire" as used in the following claims is intended to includewithin its meaning either round wire or flat band, and the word "tyingis intended to include within its meaning the formation of any sort ofjoint, whether the twisting together of overlapped wire portionsv or thecoupling together. ofeither overlapped or abutting flat band portions,by deformation, application I claim: 1

v 1. In a wire-tying machine, means for forming a tie in awire' l'oo'pedabout an object, and means for re-loading "tlie machine with wire aftera tie has been formedin'readiness for the next tie forming operation,said last -mentioned means releasing a portion of the wire uponcompletion of the re-loading operation to permit the wire to be loopedby'hand about the next object.

2. In a wire tying machine, means for supporting an object to be tied ontop of the machine in overlapping relation to the front edge thereof, aforwardly opening slot in the front of the machine for receivingoverlapped portions of a wire looped about the object, means for movingthe wire rearwardly in the slot before the tie forming operation, andmeans engaging the wire for automatically ejecting the completed tiefrom the slot after such operation.

3. In a wire tying machine, means for automatically loading the machinewith wire after each wire tying operation, said means including at rightangles thereto'to bend and thereby grip the wire.

5. In a wire tying machine, a traveling gripper which is movable in onedirection to tension the wire and is movable in the opposite directionto project a new the machine, and a stationary guideway through whichthe wire is slidingly projected by the gripper under the inherentrigidity of the wire.

6. In a wire tying machine, wire straightening means comprising anupwardly opening guideway for the reception of a portion of the wire,means forclosing off the open top of the guideway, and means for movingthe wire longitudinglly through the guideway in threading the ma- 0 me.

7. In a wire tying machine, means for tensioning the wire, and meansassociated with said tensioningmeans for straightening the portion ofthe wire which is to be threaded into the machine for the next tyingoperation, said straightening means comprising a confining guide ofsubstantial length and means to draw the wire therethrough.

8. In a wire tying machine, in combination, a gripper for holding oneend of a wire from a length of wire before it into 4 6 coil, means fortensioning, twisting and cutting portions of the wire to form a tietherein after the wire has been looped by hand about an.object with oneend held by the gripper, and means for moving the new end of the wireinto the gripper after the tie has been completed, whereby to securesuch end while the wire is being looped and pulled taut about the nextobject.

9. In a wire tying machine, in combination, a gripper for holding oneend of a wire from a coil, means for tensioning, twisting and cuttingportions of the wire to form a tie therein after the wire has beenlooped by hand about an object with one end held by the gripper, meansfor moving the new end of the wire into the gripper after the tie hasbeen completed, whereby to secure such end while the wire is beingloopedand pulled taut about the next object, and means for varying thetension applied to the wire.

10. In a wire tying machine, in combination, a gripper for holding oneend of a wire from a coil, means for tensioning, twisting and cuttingportions of the wire to form a tie therein after the wire has beenlooped by hand about an object with one end held by the gripper, meansfor moving the new end of the wire into the gripper after the tie hasbeen completed, whereby to secure such end while the wire is beinglooped and pulled taut about the next object, and means forstraightening the wire before the same is advanced toward the gripper.

11. In a wire tying machine, a frame which is provided at its top with asubstantially horizontal support for the object to be tied, and meanswithin the frame beneath said support for joining together portions of awire after the latter has been looped about the object, said frame beingprovided beneath said support with a forwardly opening slot throughwhich the joined wire portions will pass when the tied object iswithdrawn from the support in that direction.

12. In a package binding machine, means for joining together portions ofa binder to form a loop, grippers at opposite sides of said means forholding the binder under tension during the joining operation, means forcutting the binder to free the looped portion thereof from the supply,and means for automatically transferring the cut end from the gripper atone side of the joining means to the gripper at the other side inpreparation for the next joining operation.

13. In a package binding machine, means for joining together portions ofa binder to form a loop, grippers at opposite sides of said means forholding the binder under tension during the joining operation, means forcutting the binder to free the looped portion thereof from the supply,and means for automatically transferring the cut end from the gripper atone side of the joining means to the gripper at the other side inpreparation for the next joining operation, said transferring meansincluding a wire guiding conduit through which the wire moves in beingtransferred.

14. A wire tying machine having a flat top for supporting an object tobe tied and also having a forwardly opening slot in the front thereofimmediately below the top' for the reception of overlapped wire portionslooped about the object resting on the' table.

15. In awire tying machine, a wire supply, tying mechanism, a travelinggripper movable in one direction to seize and thread the wire into thetying mechanism and movable in the opposite direction to tension thethreaded wire, and means operating upon the gripper to release thethreaded and tensioned length of wire.

. 16. In a wire tying machine, a rotatable gripper for holding one endof the wire, said gripper being angularly movable into one position toreceive the wire and angularly movable into another position at rightangles thereto to bend and thereby grip the wire.

17. In a wire tying machine, means for twisting together two generallyparallel overlapping portions of a wire after the latter has been loopedaround an parallel'overlapping relation, a gripper at one side of thetwisting means for holding the end of one of the overlapping portions,and a second gripper at the other side of the twisting means forengagement with the other of the overlapping portions leading back to asupply of wire, said second gripper being automatically movable in onedirection to place one of the wire portions where it will be ingenerally parallel overlapping relation to the other portion and inengagement with the first gripper when the wire is subsequently loopedaround theobject, and being automatically movable in the other directionto tension the wire about the object before the generally paralleloverlapping portions are twisted together.

IVAN H. SPOOR.

object to bring the portions into such

